Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Sixers lose to shorthanded Grizzlies, Paul George re-injures left knee

The debut of the Big 3 lasted about five minutes, because of course it did.

Tyrese Maxey made his return to the lineup after suffering a hamstring strain on Nov 6., but Paul George left the game in the third quarter as the Sixers lost 117-111 to the Memphis Grizzlies as this Murphy’s Law-ass season rolls on.

After getting demolished again in the second half, they went on a last minute run to cut the lead to four with 54 seconds left, but it again ended up being too little too late.

Joel Embiid did look like Joel Embiid again. He led all scorers with 35 points, going 10-of-21 from the field and 14-of-14 from the line. He had 11 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.

Maxey looked rusty, finishing with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting in 19 minutes of play. George had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting before exiting.

The Grizzlies were without six players and were on the second half of a back-to-back.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• Maxey looked pretty good off the jump, getting the Sixers on the board with a runner. He moved well and didn’t seem to shy away. He couldn’t get any of his catch-and-shoot threes to fall which just might be a staple of this team. He played the first five and a half minutes before being relieved by Reggie Jackson.
• Embiid looked pretty much the same to start this season. Brandon Clarke pushed him all the way out to the three-point line on one of his first touches, which ended with Embiid just chucking the ball towards the basket for a shot clock violation. He did get a couple jumpers to fall as he settled in, and was able to get himself four shots at the line, ending the quarter with 10 points.

• McCain once again looked really good from the jump, with an early dunk taking advantage of a relaxed defense. He got on the board from deep later leading a bench lineup. A Desmond Bane three with three seconds left tied things up at 31 to end the quarter.

Second Quarter

• Familiar problems to start the quarter helped Memphis carry over a 12-2 run. George, who took a backseat in the first, couldn’t buy a bucket to start. He had a couple midrange jumpers go halfway down and out before getting on the board with a layup he probably carried on. Everything that could possibly go wrong has so far, but George is surely due for some shooting regression soon, even if his shot selection could still be better.
• Embiid looked more assertive when he checked back in, and that started with him just pushing the ball for fast breaks off rebounds. He also made good things happen by attacking Clarke, as it made Guerschon Yabusele open to grab the offensive rebound and find Ricky Council IV for a dunk.

• While there were some positives offensively, they’re definitely still figuring things out on both ends of the floor. Like their first meeting in Philly, they just did a poor job tracking shooters, and Memphis shot 50% from three in the half. Somehow the Sixers were only down 10 at the half despite shooting 22% from deep themselves. Notably, Maxey did not check back in the first half after those first five minutes.

Third Quarter

• Well, Maxey was back out there to start the second half. The half started with George coming up hobbling after grabbing a rebound on the very first shot. He exited the game and went back to the locker room. He was ruled out in the fourth quarter with a left knee hyperextension. You just have to laugh at this point, right?
• Neither team scoring for the first couple minutes of the half did give the Sixers time to get their bearings slightly. In for George, Yabusele knocked down a pair of threes to start. He was the only Sixer to make more than one three to that point.

• Despite Caleb Martin blocking what felt like every shot he could, the Sixers still couldn’t get a run together. While Yabu started the quarter 3-of-3, the rest of the team started 1-of-7. After hitting that first runner, Maxey fell to 1-of-8 from the field.
• It was still a struggle to get stops, but the end of the quarter was easily the best Embiid has looked all season. After some trips to the line he got into a groove in the midrange, giving this team some of their first easy offense on the season. There was even a sighting of Embiid trying to do too much for the first time this year, and gave the Grizzlies two free throws fighting for a rebound that was already lost. The Sixers ended the third trailing by nine.

Fourth Quarter

• Andre Drummond had a solid first half with eight points, but he’s still struggling to string two good shifts together. Memphis went right at him, whether it was at the rim or drawing him out to the perimeter, and they had pushed their lead up to 17 by the team Embiid checked back in.
• Even with how bad it is right now, it’s still frustrating to see white flag raised lineups around Embiid in the fourth. McCain checked out less than two minutes before Embiid came back into the game. It’s reasonable why they were cautious with Maxey tonight, but at least give Embiid and McCain reps together. McCain did check back in a few minutes later, but it’s still felt odd so far.
• As it would happen, the Sixers had a bit of a comeback after McCain checked back in. A trip to the line and a three-ball extended his streak of 20 or more points. A transition dunk from Kelly Oubre Jr. and suddenly it was a six-point game. They cut it down to four but Embiid airmailing a pass to a cutting Oubre put the nail in the coffin. If this sense of urgency had showed up two minutes prior, they might have been able to pull it off, but instead they are 2-12.

• Remember when the biggest problem with Nets games was booing a guy in a Louis Vuitton hockey sweater? The Sixers are back home for their next game against Brooklyn Friday. It’ll be their third game of NBA cup action at 7 p.m. ET.